A fluorescent probe strategy for the detection and discrimination of hydrogen peroxide and peroxynitrite in cells.

Aryl boronate fluorescent probes allow the non-invasive study of dynamic cellular processes involving the reactive species, hydrogen peroxide (HO) and peroxynitrite (ONOO). However, the ability of these probes to differentiate between these two species remains unclear. Here, we report a boronate-functionalised hemicyanine dye (HD-BPin) as a potential strategy to distinguish between HO at 704 nm (red channel) and ONOO at 460 nm (blue channel) in solution and in cells. This work also highlights the choice of fluorophore before boronate functionalization can dictate the observed selectivity between these two species.